Isaac Jonah James

I thought that I would do a blog entry solely dedicated to my cutie of a nephew, Isaac. I have been spending the past week playing and having fun with him. He is so laid back and smart, that it is easy to pass the time here with him. Here is just a few of the pictures I have taken so far...


I love this picture so much. It was such a challenge to get him sitting still finally. I think the Micky Mouse hoodie is what does the trick!



Here are Isaac and I being silly and having some fun with my camera. The first on is pretty normal, but the next one, well, we had to have some fun (there is actually about 10 more like this one, but I thought I would just post one...)




This last one, Isaac is trying to look cool in my sunglasses. I just think he looks so cute.



I am having such a great time catching up with him and my sister. He is such a joy to be around and a great cardio workout. I'm glad I have had the opportunity to come out here. It will be sad when I have to get back to Calgary, but I will just have to come out more and visit!

The Simple Life in Cranbrook

Mom, Fred and myself left this past Saturday to go and visit my sister Kim and her son Isaac in Cranbrook. It was a beautiful drive to get there from Calgary through the Crowsnest Pass. I kept my eyes glued to the window and took lots of pictures.

The clouds seems so different than the ones in Korea. I am not sure how, but I couldn't stop watching them move around the sky. I loved all the crazy shapes they made. It made me wish I could paint.

I forgot how stunning the rockies are. It was amazing to get closer to them as we got further into BC. Canada is such a beautiful country! I truly forgot how lucky we are when I was away in Korea.



Fred, mom and myself decided to pullover on the highway for a quick stop. I decided to take a quick picture of all of us and it turned out great!

After a long drive and some catching up mom and Fred left the following morning for Calgary, while I stayed behind for a longer visit. So after breakfast Kim, Stu, Isaac, Opheila and myself decided to go to the forest for some mountain biking and walking.

Here is the happy family all riding together in the forest. It was such a nice peaceful day and I even got to tear around on a mountain bike for a while.



I am really enjoying myself. It is really great to catch up with my sister and my nephew Isaac and get to know Stu.

I will post some super-cute pictures of Isaac soon!

Amber and Me!

A few days ago I finally met up with my best buddy Amber. We have been friends since we were 12 years old and used to dance together. It was a short, yet a sweet visit as we met before she had to get to work. It was so nice to catch up with her and to see a familiar face from back in the day. We are both looking forward to driving out to Vancouver together on May 4th. She was planning the trip for her grandparent's wedding anniversary, so we thought it was a great opportunity for a road trip. I can't wait to see the beautiful countryside...

Here is a happy picture of our reunion. We are all smiles!

Easter Fun and ETC...

The past weekend was Easter and I had a wonderful time with all of my family. Fred's brother Bill, his wife Ruby and their two daughters, Katherine and Lauren came to visit us from Vancouver. It was soooo fun playing with them and just acting silly all weekend. We feasted, played, colored, ran and read stories.

The best part about the entire weekend though was honoring Fred's parent's at their grave site. It was an amazing and touching experience for me to be a part of the ceremony. We had to bow three times, lite incense, leave flowers and do a food offering. I was touched to be a part of the experience.

It was also so fun to meet and get to know a huge part of my Chinese family. It reminded me of Korea being around all the chaos and food with them all. I fit right
in, except for the part about me speaking Korean and not Chinese. Oh well, it was still a great weekend in so many ways.

Here are some pictures of what the past weekend was like...

This is my cousin Katherine and myself. We became great buddies!



Here is a picture of her sister, Lauren. They are both so damn sweet!



Here is Fred's parents grave site with the food offerings...



This is a picture of all my cute Chinese cousins while we were all playing Easter games for chocolate and candy. FUN!



This last picture is of my Easter meal. It is kind of mean to post, especially to all of my friends back in Korea, but is was sooo yummy...



I hope you enjoyed the little update. I will keep trying to post when I can!

Some Canada Pics...

Here is just a few. I found some random Internet connection downtown in a dodgy, little food court, so enjoy the few I have posted and I will post more soon!

The first picture is from the airplane window from the flight from Seattle to Calgary. I thought the mountains were so stunning. I forgot how spectacular they are here.



This is my parent's backyard the day after I arrived. I was just in Thailand two days before, so this is rather shocking to me. BRRRR!



The last pic is my parent's very cute and very spoiled cat, Teddy. She is a little scared of me and jealous of the competition for attention. I am still trying to charm my way into her heart...

Back in CANADA!

After an adventurous and relaxing time in Thailand I am home. I was hoping to spend more time in SE Asia, but with the combination of being robbed in Bangkok (I am fine) and being really homesick, I decided to come back early. Yes, I am back in Calgary and damn it is cold and snowy. I arrived on March 28th after a 31 hour trip to get home. Ironically enough I had an 8 hour layover in Seoul on my way home from Thailand, which I spend keeping a 18 year old, new traveler from Calgary company. I wished that I slept on the journey, but my excitement and the offer of exciting, new, English movies kept me quite awake.

Now that I am back in Canada, I am adjusting to my life here again. I have not had too much jet lag and have been sleeping on a normal schedule since the night I arrived. I have experienced a little culture shock, but I have been hibernating mostly in my parent's house. I guess I have been spending time mostly with family, but will be meeting up with some friend next week. It has been difficult to to e-mail and update my blog, as my parents have no computer or Internet and I can't seem to get a free, wireless connection on my MAC here. So sorry to everyone I have been terrible at staying in contact with, but I am going to try to updates as much as possible.

As for today, I have been applying for jobs in Vancouver hoping to find something soon, so I can move where it is warm and beautiful. Calgary is too damn cold for me now. However, I am looking forward to Easter weekend and stuffing my face with more Western food. Yum, I have been eating like crazy, but going to Yoga with my mom to balance it all out. I will try to post some Calgary pictures when I get a chance. I will be off to visit my sister Kim in Cranbrook soon, so there should be some great, new pics then.

Take care everyone! :)